Clinical analytical chemistry

In this context, the term plausibility which is sometimes used in clinical analytical chemistry, should be considered. Whereas information is formed by the unexpected, plausibility is generated even by the expected. From this point of view, plausibility has been described inversely to information, viz 17 = If1 (Danzer [1983]), but because of the unit, plausibility should be defined by... 

Weber WW, Cronin MT, Pharmacogenetic testing. In Meyers RA, ed. Encyclopedia of clinical analytical chemistry, Chichester, Great Britain fohn Wiley Sons Ltd, 2000. 

Biopolymers are employed in many immunological techniques, including the analysis of food, clinical samples, pesticides, and in other areas of analytical chemistry. Immunoassays (qv) are specific, sensitive, relatively easy to perform, and usually inexpensive. For repetitive analyses, immunoassays compare very favorably with many conventional methods in terms of both sensitivity and limits of detection. 

Cornelis R (1996) Involvement of analytical chemistry in chemical speciation of metals in clinical samples. Ann Clin Lab Sd 26 252-263. 

Alexander NM (1994) Iron. In Seiler HG, Sigel A, Sigel H, eds. Handbook on metals in clinical and analytical chemistry. Dekker, New York. 

Caroli S, Forte G, Iamiceu AL, Galoppi B 1999) Determination of essential and potentially toxic trace elements in honey by inductively coupled plasma-based techniques. Talanta 50 327-336. Chiswell B, Johnson D (1994) Manganese. In Seiler HG, Sigel A, Sigel H, eds. Handbook on metals in clinical and analytical chemistry. Dekker, New York. 

W. F. Smyth (Editor), Electroanalysis in Hygiene, Environmental, Clinical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Proceedings of a Conference Organized by the Electroanalytical Group of the Chemical Society, London, 17-20 April, 1979, (Analytical Chemistry Symposia Series, Vol. 2), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1980. 

In clinical chemistry and medical diagnostics the true positive rate is called sensitivity rate and the true negative rate specificity rate (O Rangers and Condon [2000]) without any relation to the general definition of the terms sensitivity and specificity and their use in analytical chemistry (see Sects. 7.2 and 7.3). 

It should be noted that the term sensitivity sometimes may alternatively be used, namely in analytical chemistry and other disciplines. Frequently the term sensitivity is associated with detection limit or detection capability. This and other misuses are not recommended by IUPAC (Orange Book [1997, 2000]). In clinical chemistry and medicine another matter is denoted by sensitivity , namely the ability of a method to detect truly positive samples as positive (O Rangers and Condon [2000], cited according to Trullols et al. [2004]). However, this seems to be more a problem of trueness than of sensitivity. 

Biomedical analytical chemistry happens to be one of the latest disciplines which essentially embraces the principles and techniques of both analytical chemistry and biochemistry. It has often been known as clinical chemistry . This particular aspect of analytical chemistry has gained significant cognizance in the recent past by virtue of certain important techniques being included very much within its scope of analysis, namely colorimetric assays, enzymic assays, radioimmunoassays and automated methods of clinical analysis. 

It is, however, important to mention here that certain other routine procedures also carried out in a clinical laboratory fall beyond the scope of biomedical analytical chemistry, namely microbiological assays, heamatological assays, serum analysis, urine analysis and assays of other body fluids. 

This particular aspect of analytical chemistry is the outcome of the unique amalgamation of the principles and techniques of analytical chemistry and biochemistry and was initially termed as clinical chemistry> but is more recently and more descriptively known as biomedical analytical chemistry . 

The design of fluorescent sensors is of major importance because of the high demand in analytical chemistry, clinical biochemistry, medicine, the environment, etc. Numerous chemical and biochemical analytes can be detected by fluorescence methods cations (H+, Li+, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Al3+, Cd2+, etc.), anions (halide ions, citrates, carboxylates, phosphates, ATP, etc.), neutral molecules (sugars, e.g. glucose, etc.) and gases (O2, CO2, NO, etc.). There is already a wide choice of fluorescent molecular sensors for particular applications and many of them are commercially available. However, there is still a need for sensors with improved selectivity and minimum perturbation of the microenvironment to be probed. Moreover, there is the potential for progress in the development of fluorescent sensors for biochemical analytes (amino acids, coenzymes, carbohydrates, nucleosides, nucleotides, etc.). 

Fluorescence spectroscopy and its applications to the physical and life sciences have evolved rapidly during the past decade. The increased interest in fluorescence appears to be due to advances in time resolution, methods of data analysis and improved instrumentation. With these advances, it is now practical to perform time-resolved measurements with enough resolution to compare the results with the structural and dynamic features of macromolecules, to probe the structures of proteins, membranes, and nucleic acids, and to acquire two-dimensional microscopic images of chemical or protein distributions in cell cultures. Advances in laser and detector technology have also resulted in renewed interest in fluorescence for clinical and analytical chemistry. 

---